Trump jumps on "El Chapo" escape

In a survey by The Economist and YouGov, 15 percent of Republican registered voters ranked Trump as their first choice compared with 11 percent for both former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul.

All the adulation has left Trump with little incentive to heed the head of the Republican Party, Reince Priebus, who urged Trump in a phone call last week to tone it down -- but who has been hesitant to chide Trump publicly.

On "Fox News Sunday," Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, of Kentucky turned down a chance to criticize Trump, saying, "Look, I'm not going to take the bait."

Republican strategist Doug Heye says there's a reason Republican leaders are trying to avoid giving trump too much attention. "When you wrestle with the pig, you both get muddy," Heye says. "Not only does it provide more oxygen, it provides a narrative of Trump versus some establishment. Trump versus this person. And it may be a fight that ultimately you can't win, so why get involved in it?"

Besides, it's clear rejection doesn't phase "The Donald," anyway.

"Like when I went on dates," Trump remarked to the crowd in Phoenix. "If a woman dropped me, which happened often, I would always like to say in my own mind that I dropped her."

He's even refusing to rule out a third party run for president if he loses the Republican primary. And that could be the biggest headache of all for GOP leaders. Because if he pulls even five percent of the vote away from the Republican candidate, he makes it that much harder for a Republican to win the White House.